- On this episode,
we talk about e-commerce,
Twitter search,
and self awareness.
(hip hop music)
You ask questions,
and I answer them.
This is
the #AskGaryVee Show.
Hey everybody, this is Gary Vay-ner-chuk
and this is episode 108
of the #AskGaryVee Show.
Hey guys, you can go back to your,
you know,
Well Katie, get prepared,
because anything is possible at any time.
Alright India,
let's get into,
why don't you show India when I say this?
I think it's just,
or do you think it's more interesting,
Okay India,
let's get into
the show.
It's kind of weird to have you on the right side
of me - [India] Yeah, it's weird.
- I'm like, I feel discombobulated,
- [India] I'm left handed, so, - Are you lefty?
- [India] Yeah. - Makes so much sense.
- [DRock] We all are.
- [India] We're all lefties.
- All three of you? - [DRock] Yep.
- [Voiceover] Yuvraj asked,
"What is the one thing that is still missing according to you
"in the ecommerce space?"
- This time it's answered, Yuvraj.
So I think the one thing missing
in ecom right now.
There's a couple things that are, not are missing,
but I'm very curious and completely obsessed
with who's gonna be the first ecom player
that is mobile only?
Or like, disproportionately mobile first,
comma, then,
I mean, I almost want their desktop ecom site
to almost be broken,
like in the way that people were broken on mobile
two or three years ago.
I think there's a play,
and a way to disrupt Amazon
or other players in niche spaces,
where you are so natively mobile,
as all the behavior goes this way,
maybe even mobilly this way,
that the thing that's missing is,
in the way that Twitter and Instagram became mobile
for social networks,
and really had a big win in that way,
a Snapchat,
I do think there's an evolution of ecom players
that are mobile first in their attack,
and so I'm excited about that,
I think there's going to be a player that emerges
in the next half decade
that is very mobile-centric,
and mobile only, maybe, even,
which I think would be a big stance
and an interesting stance,
and one that, you know,
would almost be a marketing ploy
that doesn't work on desktop,
if you really wanna bet on three, four, five,
six, seven years out,
which I believe ecom behavior on mobile devices
will be extraordinary, so,
the thing that's missing
is the opportunity at hand
for that mobile execution in ecom.
- [Voiceover] Ryan asked,
"What environment is best for you
"to have successful business meetings in?
"Conference room, restaurant, in flight?"
- RD, for me,
I'm looking to do these meetings
anywhere possible at all times.
I will sell and biz dev,
and make the action happen on a flight,
on a toilet, in the office,
outside, at a ballgame,
walking the halls,
in the bathroom,
I don't give a crap,
I said bathroom twice.
Think about that, that is like,
that is where my mindset is on this,
which is I will go anywhere inappropriate.
I will go,
I would go anywhere.
You wanna meet at, you know,
you wanna meet at a funeral parlor to close a deal?
I'm interested, just give me the directions,
I'll be there in a minute.
So I think, to me, it doesn't matter where it is,
or how it goes down,
I'm comfortable in all environments and business settings.
You know, conference rooms,
you know, are fine,
I don't have a problem with that either,
I don't want to be cool and do it anywhere,
like, I'm just, I'm really up for whatever,
when it comes to closing a business deal
or doing some biz dev, and so,
not some cool place like a coffee shop,
not some sterile old school place,
like a conference room,
literally everything in between,
just anywhere.
- [India] You're about to get a meeting invite
at the funeral parlor, I bet.
(laughing)
From Manning Elevators,
- Yo meet me at the grave.
It's going down.
(laughing)
- [Voiceover] Manning Elevator wants to know,
"How do I use Twitter search for something
"as unique as elevators?"
- That's a good question.
I love talking about Twitter search,
it's something we haven't talked about in a long time.
I think Twitter search
is the most interesting functionality in Twitter,
maybe besides video replies,
which I've been knocking out of the park.
I think that that's a tough one.
You know, first of all,
is it elevator repairs?
Are they selling elevators?
- [India] I think that it's,
What are they doing?
To me, you know, Twitter search is amazing,
but there's clearly certain very narrow niche things
that may not over index in that environment,
you know, I see India's doing some work
to try to figure this out.
If you're doing elevator repair
or selling elevators,
you know, Twitter's not going to be the most fertile grounds
of people being like, you know,
I feel like I'm building a building right now
as a developer in 2015, to,
- [India] They make them and they do the upkeep.
- Yeah they make them and upkeep them.
You know, I don't think these developers,
in today's day and age, maybe in 20 years,
something like Twitter,
but I don't think a developer's like,
"Hey building a building,
"wondering what to do with the elevator."
You know, I think you're better off
going into the content game,
maybe creating an infographic of like seven unknown facts
of elevator upkeep, and then making that a Slideshare
and a Pinterest pin,
and then directing it into LinkedIn,
and running ads against the people that make those decisions
you know, at developer firms.
So I don't think Twitter search
is probably worth your while,
I think the other thing you could do
if you decide to make a very heavy consumer-facing brand,
I think the one whitespace for B2B people
is to make some, make really intriguing videos
that aren't boring,
that could create general awareness, right?
I think general awareness,
when you think about Intel, it's a chip, right?
But there's general awareness around it,
and you start looking for it.
There may be a play where you make videos
that are, whether they're funny,
whether they're intriguing, thought provoking,
emotional, videos for B2B companies
that create mass awareness,
that then allude to, we're sitting in a room as developers,
and saying, you know, we're building out the scope,
and of course we're looking at RFPs and RFIs
and looking at, like the cost,
but, you know, having our brand top of mind
is good to even get into that play,
and that's branding versus sales.
Twitter search is a non-recommended play,
in June 3rd, is it June 3rd?
On June 3rd, 2015,
on elevator manufacturers and service providers,
not a recommendation. No, no, no.
- [Voiceover] Jason wants to know,
"Who do you ask when you have life or business questions?"
- Jason, this is my strength and my weakness,
and so I want to set that up immediately.
I ask absolutely nobody.
It is insane,
I think about this all the time,
and I truly, and you know what,
it's funny, subconsciously I said it's my strength
and my weakness, I guess maybe that answer's
my 51/49 question of,
is it a strength or a weakness?
I do think about it a lot.
I do wonder why I'm not really mentored out,
even with the most amazing dad who's in the business,
you know,
I was mentored,
you know, and maybe this is just the way I roll,
maybe I'm being mentored by example.
You know, I think my parents,
my parents, you know, it's funny,
I'm gonna be a different parent I think,
and sit down with my kids,
and do my spiel, I mean I love doing this,
imagine me as a dad,
I'd be like, kid, when the wind blows,
you know, I'm just gonna like
you know, do shit like that.
You know, like,
I never really went that route,
I watched my parents,
and maybe I watch other people.
And I, you know,
Steve Ross,
who's my LP and investor partner now,
one of the most successful businessmen
of the last hundred years in the US.
You know,
I have full access to him at a scary level,
and I don't hit him up for, like,
what do you think?
And this is a guy who owns a football team,
you know, 5 billion dollar man,
and I never sit down and ask him,
I'm like, let me tell you.
It's in me,
again, it's either a strength or a weakness,
but the true answer to the question is absolutely nobody.
I'm a big believer that people should see
a psychiatrist, and vent, and like do that,
I don't do that, even though I believe in it tremendously,
I don't think I'm a hypocrite,
because the truth is, it's stunning,
and by the way, if I ever go through a,
if I ever went through
a sustained 36 hour period of being really upset,
I would do it in a heartbeat,
I would change my behavior,
but I am so scared,
and so blessed and so thankful,
and so grateful
for the perspective that I have as a human being,
which is, you just can't wrap your head, my friends,
VaynerNation, you just cannot wrap your head
around the excitement
that I would have in my body,
if all the things on paper
that seemed like my successes
would disappear tomorrow.
Obviously I want to take care of my family
and put a roof over their heads,
and those kinds of things.
But you do not understand my lack of taste for caviar
like I just don't give a shit.
Like I love the game.
You know why I love the Jets and the Knicks?
Because they don't win.
Do you understand?
And so for me, the fear of failure is not a fear at all,
as a matter of fact I would argue
that I have more a fear for success
than I have fear for failure, and so,
because of that, I don't know,
it puts me in a very happy place.
I don't look for advice, because the truth is,
I don't want to screw anything up.
I don't want to speak to somebody to vent,
because I don't want to screw anything up, like,
I feel like the chemicals are aligned right now,
and I'm very happy.
I'm super duper duper happy.
- [India] Cool, that's good.
- Cool.
- [India] Last one from Ryan,
- Ryan. - [India] And there's a funny bonus
- Look at MAQ's outfit today.
Let's just show the nation.
He's looking good with that.
He's got that mustard going.
And that collar's legit.
Yeah, the mustard.
(laughing)
He's got that mustard.
Brought the mustard.
Alright, let's go.
- [Voiceover] Ryan asked,
"How can you claim family first,
"but work 19 hours a day?
"How can you be a good dad dash hubby,
"and rarely be home?"
- Yeah, so this is a great question,
and I like the zing of the hashtag at the end,
what's the name?
- [India] His name is Ryan.
- Ryan, let me explain something to you, partner,
and everybody else who asks me about this question.
This is a very legit question,
and so I'm not angry or looking to zing back,
because you're right.
This has a lot to do with decisions
that my wife and I have made
about the way I storytell my life
versus the way I storytell my private life.
You know, I look at things in net gain form, right?
For example,
let's just ask my phone,
this is actually very convenient.
Didn't even think about this,
because I didn't really know the questions today.
Let's just, let's just zoom it in, DRock.
Let's just zoom in where I was this morning,
because I worked out at 6, right?
You tell me when.
And you may not be able to pull it off.
You think you're gonna be able to pull it off?
- [Voiceover] Can you hold it closer?
- I can. - [Voiceover] A little
bit more. - Yep.
- [Voiceover] Yep, and,
there we are. - Good.
So look.
Look at this.
Ha, ha, ha.
I went to the kindergarten play today, right?
I went to the kindergarten play,
as a matter of fact I was there half an hour early
to be first in line at the kindergarten play this morning.
And, you know, look, oh look,
look at this stuff that I never share,
and this one you're gonna have to blur out DRock,
because this is the point of the answer, but,
here we go, let's just see the last couple of videos
that we're taken.
Oh look, look at these videos.
Look at these videos of, you know, kids, singing.
You know, kids singing.
Yeah, kids.
My friends, here's what this one comes down to,
and I have enormous amounts of empathy
and self awareness to why this question is asked
all the time when I talk about 19 hour days,
and when I'm, DRock and I
and Staphon put out a day in the life video,
and it shows all this,
and nobody wants to envy it,
I'm playing in extremes.
First and foremost,
when there are important events like this,
you know, the kind of things that my dad never came to,
because he set the foundation to it,
I'm there, I'm at the play,
I'm at the recital, and I'm at this,
I'm there.
On weekends, I am all in.
All in my friends, all in on weekends, right?
I'm not playing four hours of golf like a lot of you.
I'm not doing a lot of other things
that a lot of people are doing,
I'm all in on the kids, right?
Then, I'm taking, oh I don't know,
seven weeks of vacation,
which is probably in the ballpark
of four, five weeks more than you, right?
More than you, which is high quality time,
all in, every second,
and so, yes, maybe I'm playing
Monday through Friday, you know,
40 weeks a year, at an intensity that's different,
but, I have found my cadence, my rhythm,
my balance with my spouse and my children,
predicated on playing it that way,
and I'm finding a lot of quality time with them
in these extremes, and so,
you know, I think, I never judge or ask
or tell anybody how to raise their family
or do their thing.
The other thing I've decided is,
unlike a lot of my contemporaries,
and a lot of social media experts,
who, I don't think exploit their kids
on social networks, but I would say are intriguing
about being so obsessed with getting likes and hearts
that they know that when they use their cute kids,
they get more, it's kind of,
I've been in many conversations,
sitting right here at conferences,
I'm right here, but I'm listening always,
you know, because that's how I roll,
and I'm doing my thing,
and I've heard many people talk about
strategies around how, oh put your kids and stuff,
you'll get more likes.
I'm like, really?
So, you know,
I've chosen, my wife has chosen,
we have chosen, to, you know,
as you guys know, there are very few pictures
or any kind of public pictures of my wife or my kids,
it's just what's comfortable to us,
so I'm very self aware
about the rationale to why people may question
my ability to be a good dad
or do my thing,
the other part of this answer is,
Misha and Xander are 3 and 6,
this is the system, and they were 2 and 5
five seconds ago, and,
(mouth noises)
You know, as things evolve,
as they're in softball and soccer,
and football, and this and that,
you know, I'll adjust,
and my schedules will change,
and you know,
a big thing in 2016 I've been giving a lot of thought to
is coming home every day at 5pm
for 30, 40 minutes to eat or bathe,
and so I'll adjust, and I'll try,
and I'll hustle and I'll work,
and I'll continue to always struggle with work-life balance,
given my happiness and my ambition,
my selfishness around work,
however, there are a lot more things going on here
than just the things you're making assumptions on,
rightfully so, given the content that I'm putting out,
but that's why even that video
we talked about and ended with,
and big ups to Alex on our team to push this,
which really made that video whole,
which was that's me, do you,
and so, I feel super cozy
about the time allocation,
I would also argue, my friend,
about quality, because plenty of people work 9 to 5,
come home, drink a beer, watch TV,
play video games, and spend, oh I don't know,
six seconds yelling at their kids to do homework,
and so, there's quantity,
which, you know, I like to think I'm maybe
playing a good game on extremities,
and then there's also quality,
like you know, actually having a relationship,
like actually having a conversation,
actually spending quality time,
actually looking them in the eye,
actually, actually, actually, so,
that's my answer to that question, friends.
- [Voiceover] Euan asked,
"Do you believe in aliens?"
- I do believe in aliens.
- [India] Cool.
- I'm not sure if I do.
Let's talk about this for a second.
There's more gray, in my opinion, DRocK,
this is not an official question.
Do you believe in aliens?
- It's, probably, - [Gary] As a matter fact,
you know what?
I'm not even gonna listen to your answer.
But do you believe in aliens?
Straight up. - Yes.
- [Gary] Like on the record forever.
- Yes. - Okay.
Do you Staphon? - [Staphon] No.
- DRock?
- [DRock] I'm unsure, I'm on the edge.
- DRock you have to answer the question.
Life on the line, yes or no?
Simple.
Simple, it's not really complicated.
- [DRock] I'm gonna say yes.
- Cool me too.
I think that, I think space goes way further
than our solar system.
What I'm curious about, and way more intrigued by
is I actually think there's another Gary Vaynerchuk
in a different world.
- [Staphon] I believe that when you believe in aliens,
- Really?
Like, - [Staphon] Someone that
looks just like someone - Yeah, I mean,
I'm so curious if Gary in a different galaxy
is crushing it,
or is a (bleep) loser.
(laughing)
Question of the day,
do you believe in aliens?
You keep asking questions,
I'll keep answering them.
Thanks for watching on YouTube,
I know I've been pushing the Facebook videos,
but the YouTube crew means a ton to me,
appreciate you.
And the other thing, and I've been watching,
I know the NSA thing is weird,
a lot of you haven't subscribed yet.
Do it.